Van Gogh Spins a Yarn

“In [Van Gogh’s] studio, he kept a lacquered box containing balls of brightly colored yarn that he endlessly twined and untwined to test the interaction of colors – exactly the procedure described by Chevereul, who had developed his theory as director of dyes for the royal looms at Gobelins.” [Van Gogh: The Life, Steven Naifen and Gregory White Smith]

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Leslie, This is interesting. I read the published letters of Van Gogh a few years ago, and one of outstanding quote that stayed with has to do with yarn, weaving and color! “A grey that’s woven from red, blue, yellow, off-white and black threads, a blue that — is broken by a green and an orange, red or yellow thread — are very different from plain colours — that is, they vibrate more and make whole colours look harsh, whole, and lifeless.”